* Passes confidence vote on CMD.Dr. Alabi
ATABOR JULIUS LOKOJA
As the recent media report by Association of Resident Doctors ARD of the imminent collapse of Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, continue to generate reactions, the Joint Health Unions, have called on the publics to disregard the publications as over 228 medical doctors and other Health professionals are presently rendering their services in full throttle across all the units of the Hospital.
The Unions, Joint Health staff union, JOHESU, National Association of Nurses and Midwives NANNM, have passed vote of confidence on the Chief Medical Director Dr. Olatunde Alabi for his commitment to the welfare of staff and patients.
Addressing Journalists at the premises of the Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, the Chairman of of Joint Health Staff Union, (JOHESU) and Chairman of National Association of Nurses and Midwifery, (NANNW), Comrade Umocho John and Abdulmalik Idris respectively, dissociated their Unions from the claims of the resident doctors.
Recall that Resident Doctors working at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja had been consistently at loggerhead with the Management under Dr. Alabi and called on President Bola Tinubu and the minister of health Ali Pate to launch an investigation on the in human treatment and decayed facilities of the hospital.
The immediate past Chairman of ARD, Dr Olushola Baoku, also revealed that the hospital before now had 315 doctors and lamented that today the hospital can only boast of only 43 doctors because of poor working conditions.
Reacting to the above claim, the group noted that the allegations of the Resident doctors are complete opposite of the situation in Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja (FTHL), saying that the author does not mean well for the hospital and the inhabitants of kogi state, saying in contrast, the hospital currently has 228 qualified doctors as against the 43 claimed by the ARD.
The group added that it is expected that every staff member of the hospital, especially the front line healthcare providers be seen to be of high moral standard and not be found wanting in this regard or be given opportunity to exhibit or continue to exhibit any act of misconduct.
Speaking further, they said “no one should be seen or be exempted from the above so as not to create a wrong impression in the minds of other health workers which could be a recipe for future anarchy.
They maintained that the hospital is being governed by the top management staff under the leadership of the CMD and decisions on issues ‘brought before her are taken at that level after serious evaluation and consultation with the public service rules, and not by an individual.
“That the management of (FTHL) is doing her best within the available resources in respect to item 5 above and has used this to instill discipline and guarantee peace and security within the hospital community. This effort should not be frustrated as we have confidence in the capacity of the current administration under the leadership of Dr. Alabi Olatunde Oladeji.
The union officials, added that any individual or group who may have disciplinary issues should sort it out at the management level as it has always being with other members of staff.
They said “we are no longer going to condole any act that would truncate the peaceful coexistence of members of staff of the hospital and the achievements recorded by this administration at the expense of interest of an individual or few. We would vehemently resist this as no one is above the public service rules.
They also called on the the Minister of Health, Ali Pate to use his good office to nip in the board this unfortunate situation, saying that it is cheaper and more effective to run the hospital from within than to run it from Abuja.
They said what is happening now is a calculated attempt to distract the good intention of the renewed hope agenda of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and therefore, call on the President and other stakeholders to disregard the false rumour of crisis rocking FTHL.
